Description

This route is a Vedauwoo Classic! It has all sizes of crack climbing to a technical and hair-raising, face climbing finish.

This starts fists then widens to offwidth just before a nice hands to thin hands splitter shoots straight up the imposing "headwall". Start on the route Moontide with the fist and offwidth crack. When the wide crack turns horizontal, start up the vertical hand to thin hand crack that shoots straight up the wall, this is The Moonrise Variation. Moontide continues along the wide crack as it turns horizontal and finishes on an obvious offwidth, thereby avoiding the beautiful splitter and face finish of Moonrise. Moontide is easier but not as aesthetic (5.10a).

Location

Just down and left from Straight and Narrow is a very obvious, wide crack that arcs to the right with the thin hands splitter of Moonrise branching off and going directly up to the anchors.

I agree Moontide is not as aesthetic as Moonrise and technically easier; however, don't be fooled the final offwidth after the traverse on Moontide caught me by surprise, and I wished that I had chosen the direct variation. My only suggestion if you decide on moontide is to bring a #6 Camalot or wider, you won't regret having it for the last 20 feet.

WARNING: the rock in the pod about halfway up moves as well. It actually moves with ease, whether from a loaded cam or just a foot jam will cause it to shift from one side to the other, causing cams to tip out and fingers to get stuck.

Eric Breitenburger and I climbed and named this variation in the summer of 1985 or '86. It needed a lichen cleaning and friable flakes peeled off. This variation probably had not been climbed before because of the condition, but one never knows.

IMO, the first few feet of the offwidth finish on Moontide were harder than the crux of Mainstreet and probably had the sharpest crystals out of all the routes I did in Vedauwoo over a 3 week stay. Definitely agree about the #6 Camalot, but sling it long or back clean it after bumping it because the anchors are 15 feet to the left of the offwidth.